Indian connection to Bangladesh Gurudev postage

with SK Biswas, my philately mentor  2006

Ever heard of a rare occasion in philatelic history; a man from one country requesting the highest official of another country to issue a stamp on a particular individual and his appeal being made into practice. Meet Surya Kanta Biswas a professional philatelist from Berhampore, District Murshidabad, West Bengal has earned a special place in the philatelic world. It was in response to his appeal to then-President HM Ershad of Bangladesh that a postage stamp on Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore came to be depicted in Bangladesh postage for the first time.

It was on May 12, 1990, he wrote a letter to the then President Ershad requesting to bring out a stamp on Gurudev to commemorate the occasion of the 150^th anniversary of Gurudev's Birth Anniversary. He wrote Gurudev should be honoured since one of his poems “Amar Sonar Bangla” is Bangladesh’s national anthem. It is a rare coincidence that Rabindranath Tagore’s two poems are the national anthem of two different countries India and Bangladesh.

Surya Kanta Biswas received a letter from Toab Khan the then Personal Assistant to the then President Ershad on August 21, 1991, informing him about the interest of the President to note down his thought on the issue Gurudev’s postage stamp. The Bangladesh Government finally agreed to release a Taka 4 stamp with Tagore’s portrait in the background of Silaidoha Smiriti Bari. Today Surya Kanta Biswas possesses the letter from Toab Khan, his biggest wealth and history it had.

Surya Kanta Biswas also speaks of another record but in the field of pen friendship. Biswas's friendship with TM Qadir from Bangladesh has already crossed 25 years and could be one of the longest ever in the world until someone comes with more years than them.